Rotorcraft and method for tracking manufacturing of aircraft parts

ABSTRACT

An aircraft component is manufactured from a plurality of separate materials comprising a first material. The first material is physically associated with a tracking device comprising a first storage medium featuring line-of-sight accessible information and a second storage medium featuring non-line-of-sight accessible information. The line-of-sight accessible information and the non-line-of-sight accessible information each comprise information regarding the first material physically associated with the tracking device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional and claims the benefit of priorityunder 35 U.S.C. § 120 of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/921,064, filed onOct. 23, 2015, entitled “IDENTIFICATION TAGS FOR TRACKING MANUFACTURINGOF AIRCRAFT PARTS,” Inventors James Corrigan et al. The disclosure ofthe prior application is considered part of and is incorporated in itsentirety by reference in the disclosure of this application.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to aircraft parts, and moreparticularly, to aircraft part identification tags for trackingmanufacturing of aircraft parts.

BACKGROUND

An aircraft, such as a rotorcraft, may be manufactured from a variety ofparts. The manufacturing process may include a variety of steps, fromreceiving raw material through producing final product. Raw material maybe subject to a variety of conditions during the manufacturing process.

SUMMARY

Particular embodiments of the present disclosure may provide one or moretechnical advantages. A technical advantage of one embodiment mayinclude the capability to apply a line-of-sight (e.g., human readable)and non-line-of-sight (e.g., machine-readable, such as via RFID) labelsto materials, such as metallic or composite panels, during any stage oftheir manufacture such that the location of the parts may be directlytracked during the subsequent steps of the manufacturing process. Atechnical advantage of one embodiment may also include the capability tostore pertinent information within the RFID memory of the labelregarding the condition of the material during the manufacturingprocess.

Certain embodiments of the present disclosure may include some, all, ornone of the above advantages. One or more other technical advantages maybe readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the figures,descriptions, and claims included herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To provide a more complete understanding of the present invention andthe features and advantages thereof, reference is made to the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 shows a rotorcraft according to one example embodiment;

FIG. 2 shows a tracking device according to one embodiment that may beused during the manufacture of at least one component of an aircraftsuch as the rotorcraft of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows an example manufacturing process according to one exampleembodiment that may utilize the tracking device of FIG. 2 to manufactureat least one component of an aircraft such as the rotorcraft of FIG. 1;and

FIG. 4 shows a tracking system according to one example embodiment thatmay interact with machine-readable elements of the tracking device ofFIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a rotorcraft 100 according to one example embodiment.Rotorcraft 100 features a rotor system 110, blades 120, a fuselage 130,a landing gear 140, and an empennage 150. Rotor system 110 may rotateblades 120. Rotor system 110 may include a control system forselectively controlling the pitch of each blade 120 in order toselectively control direction, thrust, and lift of rotorcraft 100.Fuselage 130 represents the body of rotorcraft 100 and may be coupled torotor system 110 such that rotor system 110 and blades 120 may movefuselage 130 through the air. Landing gear 140 supports rotorcraft 100when rotorcraft 100 is landing and/or when rotorcraft 100 is at rest onthe ground. Empennage 150 represents the tail section of the aircraftand features components of a rotor system 110 and blades 120′. Blades120′ may provide thrust in the same direction as the rotation of blades120 so as to counter the torque effect created by rotor system 110 andblades 120. Teachings of certain embodiments relating to rotor systemsdescribed herein may apply to rotor system 110 and/or other rotorsystems, such as other tilt rotor and helicopter rotor systems. Itshould also be appreciated that teachings regarding rotorcraft 100 mayapply to aircraft and vehicles other than rotorcraft, such as airplanesand unmanned aircraft, to name a few examples.

An aircraft, such as a rotorcraft, may be manufactured from a variety ofparts. The manufacturing process may include a variety of steps, fromreceiving raw material through producing final product. Raw material maybe subject to a variety of conditions during the manufacturing process.

One example of a manufacturing process that will be referred tothroughout this document is the manufacture of composite materials. At ahigh level, composites are manufactured by fabricating raw materials(e.g., matrices, reinforcements, and/or core) into a composite material.The fabrication process may include a variety of heating and/or mouldingtechniques, such as vacuum-bag moulding, pressure-bag moulding,autoclave moulding, resin-transfer moulding, press moulding, transfermoulding, pultrusion moulding, filament winding, casting, centrifugalcasting, continuous casting, and slip forming, just to name a few. Thefabrication process may also include other steps before, after, or inplace of heating and/or moulding techniques, including but not limitedto material lay-up and finishing work (e.g., cutting, trimming, surfaceconditioning, etc.).

Teachings of certain embodiments recognize the capability to trackmaterials through the manufacturing process. In particular, teachings ofcertain embodiments recognize the capability to track raw materialsbefore, during, and after the heating, moulding, or other steps of thefabrication process in which raw materials are exposed to an extremeenvironment.

Materials may be tracked for a variety of reasons. For example, prior tofabrication, materials may be tracked for inventory control purposes,such as to identify where raw materials are located, how many areon-hand, and whether they are available for fabrication. Duringfabrication, materials may be tracked to monitor the manufacturingprocess. After fabrication, the final product may be tracked forinventory control purposes, such as tracking the location of and otherinformation about the finished product.

Teachings of certain embodiments recognize the capability to provide asingle tracking device that enables the tracking of information inmultiple formats. For example, the single tracking device may includecontent visible via line-of-sight that enables a worker to see thematerial and information about the material (e.g., material type,material number, receipt date, source, barcodes, and human-readableinformation that may be printed for display). In addition, the singletracking device may include a storage medium that includes atransmission device for transmitting information from the singletracking device to another source, such as a computer system.

FIG. 2 shows a tracking device 200 according to one embodiment. Trackingdevice 200 may represent a tracking device that may be associated with araw material, a component, a subcomponent, a finished product, or anyother item that represents an aircraft part or an element of an aircraftpart. Such an aircraft part may be associated with an aircraft such asrotorcraft 100 of FIG. 1.

In the example of FIG. 2, tracking device 200 comprises a storage device210 and visible content 220. In one example embodiment, tracking device200 may represent a printed label (representing visible content 220) andan incorporated radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag. In general,storage device 210 and visible content 220 may be consideredincorporated if they form a single unit. In the previous example, theRFID tag may be incorporated in the printed label if, for example, theRFID tag is attached to, embedded into, or otherwise physicallyassociated with the printed label.

Although example embodiments refer to a “printed” label, teachings ofcertain embodiments recognize that printing may include a variety ofdifferent identification processes, such as printing, stamping, etching,and laser marking.

Storage device 210 may be operable to store and transmit identificationinformation and/or other information regarding the material to whichtracking device 200 is associated. Examples of storage device 210 mayinclude, but are not limited to, passive and active radio-frequencyidentification (RFID) tags. RFID is the use of a wireless non-contactsystem that uses radio-frequency electromagnetic fields to transfer datafrom a tag attached to or near an object. Passive RFID tags may notrequire a battery, but rather may be powered by the electromagneticfields used to read them. Active RFID tags, on the other hand, may use alocal power source and emit radio waves (electromagnetic radiation atradio frequencies). An RFID tag may contain electronically storedinformation which can be read at a distance. Unlike a bar code, the RFIDtag does not necessarily need to be within line of sight of the readerand may even be embedded in the tracked object.

Examples of storage device 210 may not be limited to RFID tags. Anotherpotential example of storage device 210 may include a contact memorybutton (CMB) or flash memory device. CMBs are electronic devices thatcan receive, store, and/or transmit information when contacted with atouch probe. CMBs may have a larger storage/transmission capacity thanRFID tags but may also have a shorter transmission range.

In some embodiments, the information stored and transmitted by storagedevice 210 may represent information identifying the material to whichtracking device 200 is associated. For example, the informationidentifying the material may include an identification number unique tothe material or to the type of material. In some embodiments, storagedevice 210 may include sufficient information to allow an inventorymanagement system to identify the material and its location within astorage facility.

Visible content 220 may be operable to store and display identificationinformation and/or other information regarding the material to whichtracking device 200 is associated. Visible content 220 may include thesame information as storage device 210 or different information thanstorage device 210.

In addition to the examples mentioned above, storage device 210 andvisible content 220 may store a myriad of information. For example, theymay store information describing a history of the material associatedwith tracking device 200 (e.g., maintenance history, environmentalhistory, service history, repair history) as well as manuals indicatinghow the material should be handled. As another example, they may storeenvironmental history of tracking device 200 and/or the materialassociated with tracking device 200. This environmental history maydescribe what the material has been subject to, for example, during themanufacturing process.

As stated above, teachings of certain embodiments recognize thecapability to track materials through the manufacturing process. In theexample of FIG. 2, teachings of certain embodiments recognize thecapability for storage device 210 to survive the manufacturing processsuch that it remains functional before and after part fabrication. Assuch, embodiments of storage device 210 may be capable of survivingheating, moulding, or other steps of the fabrication process in whichmaterials are exposed to an extreme environment.

FIG. 3 shows an example manufacturing process 300 according to oneexample embodiment. In the example of FIG. 3, tracking device 200 andmaterial 310 are provided. Material 310 may represent any raw material,component, subcomponent, finished product, or any other item thatrepresents an aircraft part or an element of an aircraft part. Such anaircraft part may be associated with an aircraft such as rotorcraft 100of FIG. 1.

Next, tracking device 200 is applied to material 310 to yield a trackedmaterial 320. In one example embodiment, tracking device 200 mayrepresent a printed label with an integrated RFID tag, and trackingdevice 200 is applied to material 310 using an adhesive or othersubstance. Teachings of certain embodiments recognize that applyingtracking device 200 to its associated material 310 directly (as comparedto tracking paperwork associated with material 310) may allow for moreaccurate location tracking using wireless communication techniques suchas RFID communications.

Next, other materials 322 are combined with tracked material 320 toyield a combined material 330. Other materials 322 may represent anyvariety of materials, including materials that have their own associatedtracking devices. As seen in the example of FIG. 3, combined material330 includes the tracking device 200 that was applied to material 310.

Next, combined material 330 is subjected to one or more manufacturingprocesses to yield finished product 340. Examples of these manufacturingprocesses may include any variety of fabrication techniques, as well aspre- and post-fabrication techniques.

Returning to a previous example, materials 310 and 322 may, in oneexample scenario, represent plies to be used in a composite layup. Thus,in this example scenario, tracking device 200 is applied to material 310and is carried through the manufacturing process by material 310. Inthis example scenario, combined material 330 may represent a lay up ofmultiple plies including material 310. Next, this combined material 330may be subjected to one or more composite manufacturing processes, suchas heating or moulding, to yield finished product 340. In this example,teachings of certain embodiments recognize that tracking device 200 maywithstand these composite manufacturing processes such that the storagedevice 210 of tracking device 200 remains operational throughout theprocess.

As explained above, device 200 may include machine-readable elementssuch as an RFID tag. FIG. 4 shows a tracking system 400 according to oneexample embodiment that may interact with machine-readable elements ofdevice 200 such as an RFID tag. In general, system 400 features aninterface 410, a material repository 420, and a tracking engine 430,which may be implemented across one or more computers 10 and may beaccessed by one or more users 5.

Users 5 may access system 400 through computer systems 10. For example,in some embodiments, users 5 may access material repository 420 andtracking engine 430 through computer systems 10. Users 5 may include anyindividual, group of individuals, entity, machine, and/or mechanism thatinteracts with computer systems 10. Examples of users include, but arenot limited to, a worker, service person, engineer, technician,contractor, agent, and/or employee. Users 5 may be associated with anorganization. An organization may include any social arrangement thatpursues collective goals. One example of an organization is a business.A business is an organization designed to provide goods or services, orboth, to consumers, governmental entities, and/or other businesses.

Computer system 10 may include processors 12, input/output devices 14,communications links 16, and memory 18. In other embodiments, computersystem 10 may include more, less, or other components. Computer system10 may be operable to perform one or more operations of variousembodiments. Although the embodiment shown provides one example ofcomputer system 10 that may be used with other embodiments, such otherembodiments may utilize computers other than computer system 10.Additionally, embodiments may also employ multiple computer systems 10or other computers networked together in one or more public and/orprivate computer networks, such as one or more networks 30.

Processors 12 represent devices operable to execute logic containedwithin a medium. Examples of processor 12 include one or moremicroprocessors, one or more applications, and/or other logic. Computersystem 10 may include one or multiple processors 12.

Input/output devices 14 may include any device or interface operable toenable communication between computer system 10 and external components,including communication with a user or another system. Exampleinput/output devices 14 may include, but are not limited to, a mouse,keyboard, display, and printer.

Network interfaces 16 are operable to facilitate communication betweencomputer system 10 and another element of a network, such as othercomputer systems 10. Network interfaces 16 may connect to any number andcombination of wireline and/or wireless networks suitable for datatransmission, including transmission of communications. Networkinterfaces 16 may, for example, communicate audio and/or video signals,messages, internet protocol packets, frame relay frames, asynchronoustransfer mode cells, and/or other suitable data between networkaddresses. Network interfaces 16 connect to a computer network or avariety of other communicative platforms including, but not limited to,a public switched telephone network (PSTN); a public or private datanetwork; one or more intranets; a local area network (LAN); ametropolitan area network (MAN); a wide area network (WAN); a wirelineor wireless network; a local, regional, or global communication network;an optical network; a satellite network; a cellular network; anenterprise intranet; all or a portion of the Internet; other suitablenetwork interfaces; or any combination of the preceding.

Memory 18 represents any suitable storage mechanism and may store anydata for use by computer system 10. Memory 18 may comprise one or moretangible, computer-readable, and/or computer-executable storage medium.Examples of memory 18 include computer memory (for example, RandomAccess Memory (RAM) or Read Only Memory (ROM)), mass storage media (forexample, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a CompactDisk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), database and/or networkstorage (for example, a server), and/or other computer-readable medium.

In some embodiments, memory 18 stores logic 20. Logic 20 facilitatesoperation of computer system 10. Logic 20 may include hardware,software, and/or other logic. Logic 20 may be encoded in one or moretangible, non-transitory media and may perform operations when executedby a computer. Logic 20 may include a computer program, software,computer executable instructions, and/or instructions capable of beingexecuted by computer system 10. Example logic 20 may include any of thewell-known OS2, UNIX, Mac-OS, Linux, and Windows Operating Systems orother operating systems. In particular embodiments, the operations ofthe embodiments may be performed by one or more computer readable mediastoring, embodied with, and/or encoded with a computer program and/orhaving a stored and/or an encoded computer program. Logic 20 may also beembedded within any other suitable medium without departing from thescope of the invention.

Various communications between computers 10 or components of computers10 may occur across a network, such as network 30. Network 30 mayrepresent any number and combination of wireline and/or wirelessnetworks suitable for data transmission. Network 30 may, for example,communicate internet protocol packets, frame relay frames, asynchronoustransfer mode cells, and/or other suitable data between networkaddresses. Network 30 may include a public or private data network; oneor more intranets; a local area network (LAN); a metropolitan areanetwork (MAN); a wide area network (WAN); a wireline or wirelessnetwork; a local, regional, or global communication network; an opticalnetwork; a satellite network; a cellular network; an enterpriseintranet; all or a portion of the Internet; other suitable communicationlinks; or any combination of the preceding. Although the illustratedembodiment shows one network 30, teachings of certain embodimentsrecognize that more or fewer networks may be used and that not allelements may communicate via a network. Teachings of certain embodimentsalso recognize that communications over a network is one example of amechanism for communicating between parties, and any suitable mechanismmay be used.

Interface 410 may represent any device for collecting informationdirectly from tracking device 200. In one example embodiment, interface410 is an RFID tag scanner capable of collecting information from anRFID tag associated with storage device 210. In another example,interface 410 is a barcode reader capable of collecting information froma barcode associated with visible content 220. Thus, teachings ofcertain embodiments recognize that interface 410 may represent devicescapable of collecting information via line-of-sight as well as vianon-line-of-sight techniques.

Material repository 420 may store information collected from trackingdevice 200 as well as other information. Examples of informationcollected from tracking device 200 may include information about thematerial associated with tracking device 200 (e.g., material type,material number, receipt date, source, barcodes, and human-readableinformation that may be printed for display) as well as informationabout tracking device 200 that may be used to determine additionalinformation about the material associated with tracking device 200(e.g., location information of tracking device 200 that may be used todetermine the location of the material associated with tracking device200). Examples of other information stored by material repository 420may include more detailed material information that exceeds the storagecapacity of tracking device 200 as well as information associated withother materials (e.g., inventory information about materials other thanthe material associated with tracking device 200).

Tracking engine 430 may determine and report various information basedon the data stored by material repository 420. In one exampleembodiment, tracking engine 430 may determine the location of trackingdevice 200 from data stored in material repository 420 and then reportthis determined location to user 5. In another example embodiment,tracking engine 430 may be integrated into an inventory managementsystem that uses information from material repository 420 to providereal-time information regarding how many materials are in stock.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the systems andapparatuses described herein without departing from the scope of theinvention. The components of the systems and apparatuses may beintegrated or separated. Moreover, the operations of the systems andapparatuses may be performed by more, fewer, or other components. Themethods may include more, fewer, or other steps. Additionally, steps maybe performed in any suitable order.

Although several embodiments have been illustrated and described indetail, it will be recognized that substitutions and alterations arepossible without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention, as defined by the appended claims.

To aid the Patent Office, and any readers of any patent issued on thisapplication in interpreting the claims appended hereto, applicants wishto note that they do not intend any of the appended claims to invokeparagraph 6 of 35 U.S.C. § 112 as it exists on the date of filing hereofunless the words “means for” or “step for” are explicitly used in theparticular claim.

What is claimed is:
 1. A rotorcraft comprising: at least one aircraftcomponent manufactured by a process comprising the steps of: receiving aplurality of separate materials comprising a first material, the firstmaterial being physically associated with a tracking device comprising afirst storage medium featuring line-of-sight accessible information anda contact memory button featuring non-line-of-sight accessibleinformation, the line-of-sight accessible information and thenon-line-of-sight accessible information each comprising informationregarding the first material physically associated with the trackingdevice; communicating a first portion of the non-line-of-sightaccessible information from the contact memory button to a trackingsystem; subjecting the plurality of separate materials, including thefirst material and the tracking device, to one or more manufacturingsteps, wherein the one or more manufacturing steps form the plurality ofseparate materials and the tracking device into a single, compositestructure; and communicating, after subjecting the plurality of separatematerials to the one or more manufacturing steps, a second portion ofthe non-line-of-sight accessible information from the contact memorybutton to the tracking system, wherein the second portion of thenon-line-of-sight accessible information comprises environmental historydata describing environmental conditions to which the plurality ofseparate materials and the tracking device were exposed during the oneor more manufacturing steps and service data comprising a manualassociated with the first material.
 2. The rotorcraft of claim 1,wherein the first storage medium comprises a barcode.
 3. The rotorcraftof claim 1, wherein the first storage medium and the contact memorybutton are physically incorporated into a single device.
 4. Therotorcraft of claim 1, wherein the one or more manufacturing stepscomprises heating or moulding the plurality of separate materials at asufficient temperature to form the plurality of separate materials intothe single, composite structure.
 5. The rotorcraft of claim 1, whereinthe first portion and the second portion contain the same information.6. The rotorcraft of claim 1, further comprising providing, from thetracking system, at least one status update to a user based on the firstportion and the second portion.
 7. The rotorcraft of claim 6, whereinthe status update comprises an update in a location of the trackingdevice based on movement of the tracking device between when the firstportion was communicated and when the second portion was communicated.8. The rotorcraft of claim 1, wherein receiving the plurality ofseparate materials comprising the first material comprises: receivingthe plurality of separate materials comprising the first materialwithout the tracking device being physically associated with the firstmaterial; and physically associating the tracking device with the firstmaterial.
 9. The rotorcraft of claim 1, wherein the second storagemedium comprises a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag.
 10. Therotorcraft of claim 1, wherein receiving the plurality of separatematerials comprising the first material comprises: receiving theplurality of separate materials comprising the first material withoutthe tracking device being physically associated with the first material;and physically associating the tracking device with the first material.11. The rotorcraft of claim 10, wherein: the tracking device comprises aprinted part label, wherein the contact memory button is physicallyintegrated into the printed part label; and physically associating theprinted part label with the first material comprises gluing the trackingdevice to the first material.
 12. An aircraft component manufactured bya process comprising the steps of: receiving a plurality of separatematerials comprising a first material, the first material beingphysically associated with a tracking device comprising a first storagemedium featuring line-of-sight accessible information and a contactmemory button featuring non-line-of-sight accessible information, theline-of-sight accessible information and the non-line-of-sightaccessible information each comprising information regarding the firstmaterial physically associated with the tracking device; communicating afirst portion of the non-line-of-sight accessible information from thecontact memory button to a tracking system; subjecting the plurality ofseparate materials, including the first material and the trackingdevice, to one or more manufacturing steps, wherein the one or moremanufacturing steps form the plurality of separate materials and thetracking device into a single, composite structure; and communicating,after subjecting the plurality of separate materials to the one or moremanufacturing steps, a second portion of the non-line-of-sightaccessible information from the contact memory button to the trackingsystem, wherein the second portion of the non-line-of-sight accessibleinformation comprises environmental history data describingenvironmental conditions to which the plurality of separate materialsand the tracking device were exposed during the one or moremanufacturing steps and service data comprising a manual associated withthe first material.
 13. The aircraft component of claim 12, wherein thefirst storage medium comprises a barcode.
 14. The aircraft component ofclaim 12, wherein the first storage medium and the contact memory buttonare physically incorporated into a single device.
 15. The aircraftcomponent of claim 12, wherein the one or more manufacturing stepscomprises heating or moulding the plurality of separate materials at asufficient temperature to form the plurality of separate materials intothe single, composite structure.
 16. The aircraft component of claim 12,wherein the first portion and the second portion contain the sameinformation.
 17. The aircraft component of claim 12, further comprisingproviding, from the tracking system, at least one status update to auser based on the first portion and the second portion, wherein thestatus update comprises an update in a location of the tracking devicebased on movement of the tracking device between when the first portionwas communicated and when the second portion was communicated.
 18. Theaircraft component of claim 12, wherein receiving the plurality ofseparate materials comprising the first material comprises: receivingthe plurality of separate materials comprising the first materialwithout the tracking device being physically associated with the firstmaterial; and physically associating the tracking device with the firstmaterial.
 19. The aircraft component of claim 12, wherein receiving theplurality of separate materials comprising the first material comprises:receiving the plurality of separate materials comprising the firstmaterial without the tracking device being physically associated withthe first material; and physically associating the tracking device withthe first material.
 20. The aircraft component of claim 19, wherein: thetracking device comprises a printed part label, wherein the contactmemory button is physically integrated into the printed part label; andphysically associating the printed part label with the first materialcomprises gluing the tracking device to the first material.